The Owen family makes an historic pledge for pediatric cancer research
When Gráinne and Clay Owen think of the University of South Carolina, they are reliving fond memories. Clayʼs father graduated from the College of Pharmacy, as did his uncles and siblings. Their own children are USC alumni and Clay, who also earned an undergraduate journalism degree from USC, is a professor in the College of Information and Communications. For the Owens, the university is not just an alma mater — it is woven into the fabric of their family story.
But it is another chapter in their familyʼs story that brought them together in September. The Owens announced a $5 million pledge to establish Killianʼs Hope for a United South Carolina, an endowment supporting pediatric oncology research between Prisma Health Childrenʼs Hospital-Midlands and USCʼs College of Pharmacy. The pledge represents the largest single gift in Prisma Health Foundationʼs history.
The endowment bears the name of Killian Owen, Gráinne and Clayʼs son, who died in 2003 at age 9 after battling leukemia. Out of that profound loss came Curing Kids Cancer, the nonprofit the couple founded in 2005 that has since raised more than $33 million to fund new childhood cancer treatments and pediatric cancer research.
“This gift is especially close to our hearts as a family,” says Gráinne Owen, co-founder and president of Curing Kids Cancer. “Supporting this partnership between the childrenʼs hospital and the university is a crucial step in our quest to fund cutting-edge treatments and, ultimately, cures for all childhood cancers. Killianʼs hope was that all children would one day be survivors, and that is our goal. As C.S. Lewis said, ‘You canʼt go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.’”
Supporting this partnership between the children's hospital and the university is a crucial step in our quest to fund cutting-edge treatments and, ultimately, cures for all childhood cancers.
Gráinne Owen
The partnership places the College of Pharmacyʼs Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences at the center of a collaborative effort to transform pediatric oncology care across South Carolina. Michael D. Wyatt, professor and chair of DDBS, describes the research mission as building bridges between laboratory discovery and patient care.
“Our team in the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences is working to build the essential scientific understanding of how these tumors function and where theyʼre most vulnerable,” Wyatt says.
His team will employ advanced laboratory techniques to analyze childhood cancers at the molecular level, searching for vulnerabilities that could be targeted therapeutically. The goal is to identify new drug targets and develop innovative treatments specifically designed for pediatric patients — a population that often lacks options tailored to their unique biology.
The collaboration exemplifies translational research that transforms laboratory findings into clinical applications. When DDBS researchers identify promising therapeutic approaches, physicians at Prisma Health can evaluate their potential for patient trials. When clinicians observe patterns in treatment responses, College of Pharmacy scientists can investigate the underlying mechanisms. This rapid exchange of information accelerates the pace of discovery.
Our team in the Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences at USCʼs College of Pharmacy is working to build the essential scientific understanding of how these tumors function and where theyʼre most vulnerable.
Michael D. Wyatt, Ph.D.
Dr. Stuart L. Cramer, Aflac medical director of the Childrenʼs Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Prisma Health Childrenʼs Hospital, leads the clinical side of the initiative and emphasized the partnershipʼs potential to address health care disparities across the state.
“This endowment creates the opportunity to redefine pediatric oncology care in South Carolina,” Cramer says. “It unites the largest health system in South Carolina, Prisma Health, with one of the best college of pharmacy programs in the country at the University of South Carolina. The overall goal is to increase collaboration not only locally but across the state, ensuring that all pediatric oncology patients are able to access the same innovative care no matter where they call home.”
The September announcement builds on an already strong relationship between Curing Kids Cancer and Prisma Health Childrenʼs Hospital. The organization has been a longtime donor to the hospitalʼs pediatric oncology program and was honored in 2023 as the naming donor for the Gamecocks Curing Kids Cancer Clinic, the outpatient hematology and oncology clinic located on the hospitalʼs second floor.
While the $5 million pledge establishes the endowment, Prisma Health Midlands Foundation seeks to raise an additional $2.5 million to build it to its full potential. The additional funding would expand research projects, support more scientists and clinicians, and accelerate timelines for developing new therapies.
For Gráinne and Clay Owen, the endowment named for their son represents hope — hope that other families might be spared from the loss they endured and that pediatric cancer will one day be wiped out.
Topics: Research, Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences, Support the College